Apple variety Jonagold de Coster

ABSTRACT

The Jonagold De Coster strain of Jonagold apple tree characterized particularly by the bright red color of its fruit, the high color percentage of its fruit, and by its freedom from virus infection.

This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apple tree named Jonagold De Coster, sometimes denominated "Decosta".

The new apple variety was discovered in a cultivated orchard located in MOLENBEEK-WERSBEEK, Hageland, Belgium as a spontaneous whole tree mutation of Jonagold (Unpatented). Neither this tree nor its parent had been treated in any manner designed to induce sports.

The new apple tree cultivar was one of the block of apple trees propagated on M9 rootstock with Jonagold budwood. Its most unique characteristic is its desirable fruit color.

With respect to fruit color, Jonagold De Coster exhibits a higher degree of color development than standard Jonagold. Although as the percentage of red color on the fruit increases with the season, the shade of red color remains throughout the season the bright wind red color that standard Jonagold is known for. Its color characteristics may best be summarized in the following Table.

    ______________________________________                                                 Jonagold                                                                       De Coster    Jonagored     Jonagold                                    ______________________________________                                         Early color                                                                            Similar to   Brownish brown-                                                                              Light                                       develop-                                                                               Standard     red color through-                                                                           green to                                    ment of Jonagold with                                                                               out the growing                                                                              dark green                                  fruit   some pink to season, darkening                                                 red additional                                                                              and redening in                                                   color visible                                                                               early September                                                   from July through                                                              early September                                                        Fruit finish                                                                           Very bright wine                                                                            Dark red to brown                                                                            Bright,                                     color - red tone similar                                                                            red; 821 Currant                                                                             wine red                                    shade   to standard  red to 822 Cardinal                                                                          with white                                          Jonagold with no                                                                            red, RHCCL    to yellow                                           brown tones.               background                                          Finish tone is                                                                 between 818                                                                    Jasper red and                                                                 818 Orient red,                                                                RHCCL                                                                  Fruit finish                                                                           Many fruits  Many fruits with                                                                             Many                                        color - %                                                                              with 85%-95% 85-95% red color,                                                                            fruits                                              red color, some                                                                             some apples   with 20-                                            light stripes                                                                               blush finish, 30% red                                                          others bold   color                                                            stripes       stripes                                                                        over a                                                                         white to                                                                       yellow                                                                         back-                                                                          ground                                      ______________________________________                                                 Rubinstar    Daliguy       Jonica                                      ______________________________________                                         Early color                                                                            Starts very  Light green   Light green                                 develop-                                                                               early- at the                                                                               dark green                                                ment of end August in                                                          fruit   a brownish way                                                         Fruit finish                                                                           Transforms from                                                                             Bright wine-  Brown to                                    color - brown into dark                                                                             red with      pink-red                                    shade   red          white to                                                                       yellow back-                                                                   ground                                                    Fruit finish                                                                           Many fruits  Many fruits   Many fruit                                  color - %                                                                              with 90-100% with 30-40%   colors                                              red color    red color     with 70%                                                         stripes over  in a pink-                                                       a white to    red.                                                             yellow back-  Others stay                                                      ground with   brownish                                                         more inten-   pink red                                                         sity than                                                                      standard                                                  ______________________________________                                    

RHCCL -- Royal Horticultural Colour Chart of London

With respect to virus, both the budwood and rootstock of the original mutation were controlled by the N.A.K.B. of Holland and labeled as virus free. The current scion wood in the U.S.A. also is virus free, as certified by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

The new apple tree variety has been asexually propagated through three generations and its new characteristics shown to be stable and reproducible.

The three generations have been asexually propagated through T-budding and benchgrafting onto certified virus-free rootstocks. The trees of the first, second and third generation and 10,000 control trees in their second leaf in an orchard at Dronten, Holland have been controlled individually by the staff of the Belgian National Research Station, the Dutch Fruit Advisory Team, and the staff of the Dutch Government Research Bureau.

More than 150,000 trees produced apples in 1991 in orchards planted in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, and North, South and Eastern Germany. All the apples so produced were checked and found to be of uniform and stable color.

Also, the trees have been planted and observed in all of the research stations supervising apple variety trials in Europe. These stations are located in Velm, Belgium; Wilhelminadorp, Zeewolde, Numansdorp, Horst, Geldermalsen, The Netherlands; York, Ahrweiler, and Bavendorf, Germany; Haidegg, Austria; Laimburg, Italy; Angers, Marsillarges, France, and elsewhere in the world. In all of these stations Jonagold De Coster has been named among the best mutations of Jonagold.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of the Jonagold De Coster apple tree variety of my discovery shown as it was discovered between a pair of standard Jonagold apple trees of the same stock, growing in the same block of trees.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the new variety, illustrating the manner in which it was grown in Belgium, slender spindle fashion, with wide branch angles.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating the appearance and color of the mature fruits of the new apple tree variety.

FIG. 4 is a comparative display of the fruits of the new apple variety in a mature state comparing them, with particular reference to color, with the standard Jonagold apple variety and the Jonagored apple variety in the same mature state.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are elevational and sectional views, respectively of the new variety.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are detailed views of the reference Jonagold strains, Jonagored, Rubinstar and Jonica.

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 are comparative displays illustrating the appearance of the new apple variety in comparison with that of the reference Jonagold mutations Jonagored, Rubinstar and Jonica.

In greater detail, the characteristics of the newly discovered Jonagold De Coster apple tree variety are as follows:

Tree: Upright, rather vigorous with wide spreading branches, medium in size, not as strong as Golden Delicious.

Bearing habit.--Medium size, regular annular bearer, highly productive.

Trunk.--Thick, upright, smooth, gray color.

Branches.--Moderately thick, strong wide angles, very spreading, smooth gray bark.

Leaves.--Very large, medium to dark green with green veins.

Spurs.--Strong, closely set.

Bark.--Gray, a somewhat lighter shade than standard Jonagold. This contrasts with the bark of the Jonagored variety which is a darker shade of brown than that of standard Jonagold.

Lenticels.--Gray, obscure.

Disease status.--Virus free; susceptible to scab and mildew.

Vigor.--The same as standard virus-free Jonagold. This compares with the vigor of Jonagored which is 15-30% less than standard due to the expression of apple rubbery wood virus.

Productivity.--Same as virus free Jonagold, but greater than Jonagored.

Pollination.--Bloom is mid-season. The variety is triploid with sterile pollen. Can be pollinated by: Alkmene, Benoni, Cox's Orange Pippin, Delcorf, Discovery, Elan, Elise, Elstar, Fiesta, Gala, Gloster, James Grieve, Lombarts Calville, Melrose, Rafzubin, Vista Bella, Zoeta Oranje.

Fruit:

Shape.--Large fruit, high conical shape with the thickest point at half of the height, often leaning over going to the calyx end, very slightly ribbed.

Stem.--Long, 25 to 35 mm, thin.

Cavity.--Medium, obtuse, broad, shallow, light russet on some.

Calyx.--Large to medium large, closed, quite shallow.

Lobes.--Medium, broad, obtuse.

Basin.--Medium, wide obtuse, furrowed.

Skin.--Smooth, glossy, medium thickness and toughness.

Color.--Uniform bright wine red up into calyx and cavity, background color is yellow to light red, uniform pink-reddish nature begins in July covering a major portion of the fruit (80-95%) with finishing tone appearing in early September.

Lenticels.--Numerous, tan, obscure, almost invisible, very small points.

Calyx tube.--Long, narrow, funnel-shaped.

Stamen.--Median.

Core.--Small and round, closed.

Seeds.--Large, wide, tan to auburn.

Flesh.--White-yellow to yellow, firm, crisp, medium texture, juicy, sweet to aromatic-sour taste with outstanding flavor.

Quality.--Very good to excellent.

Storage.--Can be stored in regular cold storage until January and in ultra-low oxygen storage until July.

Further comparisons of the characteristics of my new apple variety Jonagold De Coster with standard Jonagold and the more significant Jonagold mutants, Jonagored, Rubinstar, Daliguy and Jonica (Schneica) are tabulated as follows:

                  TABLE I                                                          ______________________________________                                         Tree      Jonagold De Coster                                                                            Jonagored                                             ______________________________________                                         growth    upright        vigorous                                                        rather vigorous                                                      Bearing habit                                                                            regular annual bearer                                                                         regular annual bearer                                 Trunk and moderately thick                                                                              moderately thick                                      branches  No spur growth                                                       bark color                                                                               grey           dark brown                                            vigor     same as standard VF                                                                           Jonagored grows                                                                5-10% more than                                                                standard VF                                           productivity                                                                             100%           90%                                                   ______________________________________                                         Tree      Standard VF Jonagold                                                                          Rubinstar                                             ______________________________________                                         growth    upright        less upright                                                    less vigorous  much less vigorous                                    Bearing habit                                                                            tendency to biannual                                                                          regular annual bearer                                 Trunk and moderately thick                                                                              thin                                                  branches                                                                       bark color                                                                               dark grey      very dark grey                                        vigor                    virusinfected grows                                                            10% less than                                                                  Standard VF                                           productivity                                                                             100%           80%                                                   ______________________________________                                         Tree      Daliguy        Jonica                                                ______________________________________                                         growth    upright        less upright                                                    less vigorous  much less vigorous                                    Bearing habit                                                                            tendency to biannual                                                                          regular annual bearer                                 Trunk and moderately thick                                                                              tin                                                   branches                                                                       bark color                                                                               dark grey      grey                                                  vigor     same as        VF grows                                                        Standard VF    10% less than                                                                  Standard VF                                           productivity                                                                             90%            80%                                                   ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE II                                                         ______________________________________                                                    PICKING DATE                                                                               % FIRST PICK                                            ______________________________________                                         Jonagold De Coster                                                                          9.19.1990     65.8                                                Jonagored    9.19.1990     61.8                                                Standard Jonagold                                                                           9.19.1990     20.0                                                Rubinstar    9.24.1990     86.5                                                Daliguy      9.19.1990     30.0                                                Jonica       9.26.1990     60.9                                                ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE III                                                        ______________________________________                                         Fruit      Jonagold De Coster                                                                             Jonagored                                           ______________________________________                                         Shape      not as large more                                                                              very large                                                     uniform in size not uniform                                                    globose conical size                                                                           oblongconical                                       Stem       long            long                                                Calyx      quite shallow   shallow                                                        closed          some half-open                                      Cavity     broad           rather small                                                   medium deep     medium to                                                                      little deep                                         Skin       smooth          smooth                                              Color      uniform wine-red                                                                               dark red to                                                    background green                                                                               purple                                                         to yellow when  little to no                                                   ripe little     background                                                     striping        striping                                            Lenticels  numerous        numerous                                            Calyx tube long narrow     long narrow                                         Core       small and round small and                                                                      round                                               Seeds      large wide      large wide                                          Flesh      white yellowish yellowish                                           ______________________________________                                         Fruit      Standard Jonagold                                                                              Rubinstar                                           ______________________________________                                         Shape      large           smaller                                                        not uniform in size                                                                            more uniform in                                                                size                                                           globose conical flat globose                                        Stem       Long            medium long                                         Calyx      shallow         quite shallow                                                  some half-open  some half-open                                      Cavity     broad           broad                                                          medium to deep  medium deep                                         Skin       smooth          very smooth                                         Color      tomato red with a                                                                              unform dark                                                    green to yellow red with very                                                  background      little green                                                   little stripes  background                                          Lenticels  less            less                                                Calyx tube not so long narrow                                                                             long narrow                                         Core       small and round not small, and                                                                 flat                                                Seeds      large wide      very small and                                                                 very thin                                           Flesh      yellowish       yellowish                                           ______________________________________                                         Fruit      Daliguy         Jonica                                              ______________________________________                                         Shape      large           rather large                                                   not uniform in size                                                                            not uniform                                                    globose conical in size                                                                        flat globose                                        Stem       long            medium long                                         Calyx      shallow         shallow                                                        some half-open  closed                                              Cavity     broad           rather small                                                   medium to deep  medium to                                                                      little deep                                         Skin       smooth          very smooth                                         Color      intense tomato red                                                                             dull brown red                                                 with a green to to pink red                                                    yellow background                                                                              with green                                                                     to yellow                                                                      background                                          Lenticels  less            less                                                Calyx tube not so long, narrow                                                                            short wide                                          Core       small and round not small and                                                                  flat                                                Seeds      large wide      very large,                                                                    very wide                                           Flesh      yellowish       white yellowish                                     ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE IV                                                         ______________________________________                                         Blooming period                                                                muta- 1989         1990         1991                                           tion  A      B      C    A    B    C    A    B    C                            ______________________________________                                         Jona- 5/02   5/05   5/14 4/12 4/16 5/09 4/17 4/26 5/13                         gold                                                                           De-                                                                            Coster                                                                         Jona- 4/20   4/29   5/14 4/11 4/15 5/08 4/16 4/23 5/09                         gored                                                                          Jonica                                                                               4/19   5/02   5/15 4/11 4/17 5/07 4/15 4/23 5/08                         Rubin-                                                                               4/19   5/02   5/14 4/11 4/16 5/08 4/17 4/23 5/09                         star                                                                           ______________________________________                                          A: bloom start                                                                 B: full bloom                                                                  C: end of bloom                                                          

                  TABLE V                                                          ______________________________________                                         Trunk growth in cm on rootstock M9                                                     Planting                                                               Mutation                                                                               date        1989   1990   1991 total                                   ______________________________________                                         Jonica  1988        3.22   1.65   3.41 8.28                                    Jonagored                                                                              replanted   2.18   1.49   3.63 7.30                                            1988                                                                   Rubinstar                                                                              replanted   1.16   1.30   2.84 5.30                                            1988                                                                   Jonica  replanted   0.97   1.34   2.84 5.15                                    Jonagold                                                                               1989        2.56   2.22   3.46 8.24                                    De Coster                                                                      ______________________________________                                          Trunk diameter is measured 30 cm above the ground.                       

                  TABLE VI                                                         ______________________________________                                         Taste                                                                          Total value for internal:                                                                    2 × aroma + 2 × sour-sweet propor-                   characteristics                                                                              tion + 2 × firmness + 2 × juiciness                                  Sour-Sweet                                                                               Firm-         Total                                  Mutant  Aroma   proportion                                                                               ness  Juiciness                                                                              Value                                  ______________________________________                                         Jonica  5,48 ±                                                                              5,87 ± 0,41                                                                           5,88 ±                                                                            6,36 ± 0,42                                                                         47,19 ±                                      0,44*            0,33          2,57                                   Decoster                                                                               5,65 ±                                                                              6,26 ± 0,41                                                                           6,32 ±                                                                            6,25 ± 0,49                                                                         48,96 ±                                     0,41              0,34          2,62                                   Rubinstar                                                                              5,39 ±                                                                               6,0 ± 0,40                                                                           6,09 ±                                                                            6,43 ± 0,42                                                                         47,83 ±                                     0,41              0,38          2,38                                   Jonagored                                                                              5,30 ±                                                                              5,43 ± 0,45                                                                           5,68 ±                                                                            5,67 ± 0,44                                                                         44,17 ±                                     0,40              0,38          2,56                                   ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE VII                                                        ______________________________________                                         Surface Color                                                                  Group      Mutant      Identification Mark                                     ______________________________________                                         Group 1    Jonica      Bright-red blush with                                                          green ground color                                      Group 2    De Coster   Group in between from                                                          bright-red to dark-red                                                         with green ground color                                 Group 3    Jonagored   Dark-red; little to no                                                         green ground color                                      ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE VIII                                                       ______________________________________                                         COMPARISON OF JONAGOLDMUTANTS                                                  (Selective sample of 5 apples)                                                 ______________________________________                                         Appearance: * Color:                                                                   Jonica: uniform colored, dull brown red,                                               the color changes gradually from                                               green to red, the green side is                                                green over the whole length.                                           Jonagored:                                                                             dark red to purple, striped,                                                   almost no green color, change                                                  from green to red is very diffuse.                                     Rubinstar:                                                                             uniform dark red, little green                                                 ground color, change from green                                                to red is diffuse.                                                     DeCoster:                                                                              between bright and dark red,                                                   lightly striped, change from red                                               to green is diffuse and not over                                               the whole length.                                                      Lenticels:                                                                             DeCoster & Jonagored have many                                                 lenticels;                                                                     Rubinstar and Jonica have a                                                    moderate number of lenticels.                                          Shape:  Jonica and Rubinstar are rounded                                               quadrangular;                                                                Jonagored:                                                                             asymetrical                                                            DeCoster:                                                                              a little higher, a little                                                      sloping.                                                 Average number of pips:                                                                         Jonica:     3,0                                                                Jonagored:  2,6                                                                Rubinstar:  4,0                                                                DeCoster:   2,6                                               Diameter of core:                                                                               Jonica:     2,76 cm                                                            Jonagored:  2,88 cm                                                            Rubinstar:  3,18 cm                                                            DeCoster:   3,0 cm                                            Jonagored                                                                      Height    Width          Height/Width                                          72,84     82,02          0,89                                                  66,09     75,31          0,88                                                  69,70     77,22          0,50                                                  76,77     84,12          0,91                                                  74,01     78,95          0,94                                                                           0,90 = Average                                        Dark red to purple-red colored                                                 striped coloring                                                               little to no green ground color                                                nose mostly red colored                                                        many lenticels.                                                                Rubinstar                                                                      Height    Width          Height/Width                                          78,24     80,86          0,97                                                  69,72     75,92          0,92                                                  74,64     81,60          0,91                                                  78,13     78,76          0,99                                                  75,98     78,93          0,96                                                                           0,95 = Average                                        Dark red (in 1991 less dark than in 1989 and 1990)                             homogeneously colored                                                          little to no green ground color                                                moderate number of lenticels.                                                  DeCoster                                                                       Height    Width          Height/Width                                          67,07     71,52          0,94                                                  73,50     75,60          0,97                                                  69,38     78,78          0,88                                                  68,86     75,16          0,92                                                  67,15     79,25          0.85                                                                           0,91 = Average                                        Between bright red and dark red                                                striped coloring                                                               much surface is green colored                                                  at one side less high                                                          many lenticels.                                                                Jonica                                                                         Height    Width          Height/Width                                          68,48     73,05          0,94                                                  72,46     75,69          0,96                                                  70,94     74,77          0,95                                                  68,82     74,56          0,92                                                  72,32     79,26          0,91                                                                           0,94 = Average                                        Bright red                                                                     homogeneously colored                                                          moderate number of lenticels                                                   nose may be green                                                              much surface is green colored.                                                 ______________________________________                                          (Source: Gegevens van de Nationale Proeftuin voor Grootfruit, SintTruiden                                                                               

In summary, the unique characteristics of my newly discovered apple tree variety Jonagold De Coster are as follows:

The unique and striking color of the fruit, between dark and bright red.

Its original and continued virus free-status.

A high percentage of early first pick.

A vigorous and highly productive tree growth habit, creating a large tree volume with a very large potential fruit-bearing surface, which is well used.

Good fruit storage properties.

Superior fruit flavor. 

I claim:
 1. The new and distinct variety of apple tree as described and illustrated characterized particularly by the unique color of its fruit, by its unique virus free condition from inception, and characterized further by its high percentage of early first pick, a vigorous and highly productive tree growth habit, good fruit storage properties, and superior fruit flavor. 